


Sleight of Hand

by terriblefate



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:54:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27988014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terriblefate/pseuds/terriblefate
Summary: Gon meets a magician. Young Hisoka x Gon AU
Relationships: Gon Freecs/Hisoka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 81





	Sleight of Hand

Gon surveyed the park, searching for his two little friends. He hoped the pouring rain hadn’t scared them away. Luckily, he carried an umbrella in his backpack at all times—along with some other utility equipment that might prove useful—so he hadn’t been caught off guard by the sudden rainstorm.

The park was small and broken down. Nobody played here anymore because of how old it was, but Gon had made this place his secret hideout where he would play with and feed the two stray cats that often wandered about here. Making his way over to the back entrance, there was a little opening that allowed him to squeeze through into the area. The front entrance was locked, but nobody had really cared enough to make sure that statement applied to the back entrance, too.

The rain was harsher than he expected though. The morning weather report he saw at Mito-san’s bar said there would only be some May showers, nothing implying a full-out raging thunderstorm. The pitter-patters of the rain drowned out the sound of his footsteps. The rain was pouring so fast and hard, pushing down on Gon’s tiny but sturdy umbrella. Every step he took caused a splash that multiplied into ripples. It was a good thing he wore long boots, otherwise his socks and feet would’ve been completely soaked by now.

The park was empty, of course. It was raining outside and nobody wanted to play in an old, abandoned park. Most of the swings were dislodged or the chain was dangerously on its way to coming loose from the swing set. There was only one seat that was still functional and that was the one that Gon would play on. The benches here were made of wood, and most of them were torn or destroyed because of how weak the material was. Even now, the rain was chipping away at its remaining life that was already declining. A lot of the other reconstructed parks had metal benches in pretty designs. They hadn’t bothered to reconstruct this one because it wasn’t in a good neighborhood.

“Elena! Eeta!” Gon called out the cats’ names but soon realized the rain was muffling his voice.

He circled around the park, looking for them but to no avail. He checked under the benches and in the bushes, twirling his red umbrella around as he conducted his search. It was hard since he couldn’t hear the sound of their meows as he usually would. After a while, Gon went over to the playground playhouse where the slide was.

He made his way around to the rear entrance where there was an opening created from the tearing of the wood. Gon slid his way through to where there was shelter from the rain. He left his arms out to properly close the umbrella before squeezing it inside with him, sighing in relief as he no longer felt the ruthless storm.

Turning around, he noticed that someone else was here with him, someone he didn’t recognize. The boy had wet red hair that was down, wearing a white t-shirt that was sticking to his body, presumably wet from the rain.

“Who are you?” Gon asked, curiosity piqued at this unexpected visitor. The boy seemed to register his presence too as he turned his face to look up at Gon, revealing a pink star on one cheek and a blue teardrop on the other. Gon noticed that two white kittens were curled up against him.

“Hiya. Is this your hideout? ♥️” the boy asked as he scratched Elena’s neck. Eeta was snuggling his free hand, wanting to be pet as well.

Gon nodded, stepping closer towards the unexpected visitor. “Yup!” he answered. If Elena and Eeta were comfortable with this boy, then he couldn’t be so bad.

Letting his backpack drop to the floor, he unzipped it and took out the plastic bag containing the food that he’d promised to get Elena and Eeta. Taking out a bowl, he dumped the fish that he’d caught into it and gently ushered it near the kittens.

Elena and Eeta jumped to the sight of their favorite meal and began nibbling vigorously on it.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Gon said as he went to sit down against the wall next to the strange visitor.

“I’m a magician, ♦️” the so-called magician replied with a smirk.

“Really?” Gon’s eyes shone with a sparkle. “Can you show me a magic trick then? Please?”

The magician chuckled. “Alright. You asked so nicely, after all. ♥️” In one swift move, the magician revealed a deck of cards in his hand.

“Wow! They came out of nowhere! Was that the magic trick?” Gon asked, the magician now having his full attention.

“Not yet,” he replied, once again chuckling. The magician sprung the cards in the air from one hand to the other, back-to-back without a single card dropping out of the pile. It was amazing, almost like it was really magic. Then the magician spread out the cards like a fan in one hand. “Pick any card you like. ♥️”

“Okay! Then… I’ll pick this one.” Gon pointed at the ace of spades within the display of cards.

“A lovely choice, ♠️” the magician commented. He pulled out the selected card and a black pen. “Write your name on this card. We wouldn’t want it to get lost, now would we? ♦️”

Gon took the ace of spades and the pen. He wrote his first name at the top with his surname below the large spade. “Like this?” he asked, handing it back to the magician for confirmation. The magician took note of the name that was written in less than appealing handwriting: Gon Freecss.

“Yep, exactly like that. ♥️” Smiling, he placed the card randomly back into the fan of cards and closed it into a single deck. “Now that it has your name on it, I can work my magic. ♣️”

“Um, wait!” Gon said.

“Hmm? What is it? ♠️”

“What’s your name?”

The magician hummed, tapping a finger on his chin, before finally answering, “It’s a secret. ♦️”

“Why?” Gon pouted. “You already know my name.” The magician had teased him, getting his hopes up, and Gon didn’t like that one bit.

“A magician must never reveal his secrets. ♣️” Upon seeing Gon sulk, his eyes glimmered with mischief. “Let’s make a deal, then. If you’re able to figure out how the trick I’m about to perform works, then I’ll tell you my name. ♥️”

“Alright!” Gon agreed in an instant. “You can’t go back on your word!”

Chuckling, the magician reshuffled the deck of cards. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do such a thing. ♠️ But do be careful to pay close attention, or you won’t get it at all, ♥️” he advised.

Gon nodded, hyped up from the deal proposed. The magician shuffled the deck of cards in his hand again before stopping.

“Snap your fingers, ♦️” he commanded. Gon snapped his fingers, eager to see the trick.

The magician turned over the top card, revealing the ace of spades that had Gon’s name written on it. “Your card will always rise to the top if you command it to, ♥️” he explained. “It won’t show up on top if you don’t. Here, see? ♣️” He demonstrated by turning over the top card again, and this time it showed up as nine of diamonds.

Gon was unable to hold back the sheer excitement and amazement in his body. “Wow! Can you do it again?”

The magician stared at Gon. Then, he couldn't help but give a soft laugh. Gon was already entranced by his magic trick when it had only just begun. Usually it took him a few more times and effort to make his audience believe his word, but Gon was filled with pure belief in his act. His innocence was honestly endearing and cute.

“Of course, ♥️” he replied. He retrieved the special card, visually showing it to Gon before placing it right in the middle of the deck where it was bound to get lost. “There’s your card. ♠️” He indicated by pointing to a card that was slid out just a bit in comparison to the rest of the deck. Then he pushed it down until it was no longer visible and held the deck out in front of Gon. “Go on, ♦️” he offered with a smile.

Upon being told to do so, Gon snapped his fingers again. The magician turned over the card on top once more, revealing the ace of spades.

Gon’s mouth widened in shock, having nothing but thoughts of how amazing this magician was.

The magician continued to carry out trick after trick, the next feat more seemingly impossible than the previous. Gon was completely encapsulated throughout the entire performance, losing his sense of time in the process. Once the magician finished his final trick, Gon clapped as the sole audience.

“That was awesome! Hey, teach me how to do it, please?” Gon asked.

The magician wagged his finger in front of Gon. “The deal was for you to figure it out yourself, remember? ♥️”

“Crap, that’s right! I completely forgot about that!” Gon gripped his hair. He’d been so captivated by the performance that the deal completely slipped his mind. If he’d remembered, he would’ve paid more attention to the positioning of the cards and the magician’s hands—and he probably would’ve been able to catch something.

“Well? Do you have an answer? ♣️” the magician asked.

Gon was sitting criss-cross style and thinking hard. “I’m thinking!” he said with a pout. Although he had a good memory, he couldn’t find any plausible explanation as to how the ace of spades would show up on top whenever he snapped his fingers, yet was nowhere to be found when he didn’t command it.

The magician simply waited beside him in a casual manner, shuffling the deck of cards nonchalantly. Eventually, it looked like there was steam coming out of Gon’s ears, indicating that he was perhaps reaching his mental limit.

“Magic… I think?” Gon finally tried. A complete guess.

“So close,” the magician stated with a devious smirk, “yet so far. You’re wrong. ♠️”

“Aww,” he whined. Well, he was certainly out of ideas. Gon didn’t stay too down about it, though. “I’ll get it next time. But your magic tricks are amazing! Where’d you learn them?”

The magician shuffled the cards with a smile. “My mother was a very skillful lady. ♠️”

“Really?” Gon questioned. “I bet she’s super cool then! I don’t know much about my real mom, but Mito-san is like a mother to me. She cooks really good food! Ah, I know!” Gon’s eyes lit up upon coming to a realization. “I’ll share some with you the next time I see you. Pinky swear!” He held up his pinky and urged the magician to do the same.

The magician was curious about the gesture, but imitated Gon.

Gon linked his pinky with the magician’s and began his usual chant in a sing-song voice for the assured effect of the promise. “Pinky swear made! Whoever breaks their promise has to swallow a thousand needles. And sealed with a kiss! Chuuu!” He connected his thumb with the magician’s, their thumbs meeting softly as Gon prolonged the final word of the chant.

The magician watched the ritual of promise with amusement, already fond of Gon’s naivety and innocence. “You’re so cute, ♥️” he commented after Gon finished his chant.

Gon smiled, not fully understanding the magician’s comment, but he was happy that he was able to carry out the pact. Even if the magician might’ve thought it was childish, Gon was glad he hadn’t rejected it anyway. Elena and Eeta went up to Gon’s side and licked at his fingers.

Gon realized the cats had finished the meal he’d brought them. “Ah, I forgot!” Gon shot up from his sitting position to his feet. “I have to get back to Mito-san. Sorry!”

“Not at all, ♣️” the magician replied. “I should be the one apologizing for keeping you. ♥️”

“Hmm, it’s still raining outside,” Gon said, taking a peek outside the playhouse. “Here!” He offered his red umbrella to the magician. “Mito-san’s bar is close by, so I don’t need it. It’s still raining pretty badly, so take care on your way home, okay?”

The magician’s lips curled upwards. “How kind of you. ♥️”

Gon put on his backpack, double-checking that everything was secure. Picking up his fishing rod, he waved goodbye to the magician. “I had lots of fun today! Show me more magic tricks next time, okay? Bye-bye!” he called out, leaving the playhouse and dashing off to his destination.

“Bye-bye. ♥️”

The magician watched Gon scurry off to wherever he planned to go. He continued to lay against the wall, the rain returning to his comfort once Gon left. Elena and Eeta, full from their meal, had decided to rest in the corner, nestled in a blanket that Gon had probably brought for them. Bringing up the ace of spades in front of him, he pressed a small kiss to it before eyeing the name that was written on it.

_Gon Freecss, hm?_

Hisoka smiled.

He had a feeling he’d see Gon again very soon.


End file.
